One talented member

[part_timer]

I've been emailing Boarrancher for a while now getting help with my flint knapping, he is a master craftsman at it don't ya know. As a thanks for all his help I sent him a home made knife, nothing fancy just a small knock around patch knife.

Well imagine my surprise when I opened the mail and found this in there.


69779

69778

69780.

It's rainbow obsidian, if you look close you can see a line down the middle that is actually a color inside the rock. This piece is so thin on the edges that you can read a piece of paper through it if you hold it up in front of a light. You have MAD SKILLS brother.


If you ever get a chance to pick up one of his stone knife that are offered for sale from time to time you should do it. You won't find a better example of craftsmanship anywhere.

Thanks Joe, I will remember this.

[41 mag fan]

Man that's one nice piece of stone you got knapped and given to you!!
Boarrancher did a heck of a job on that obsidian!!

[DCP]

That is so nice.
The gentleman has skills.
I have just started trying to learn how to make my own flints. Seams to have a large learning curve.

[DLCTEX]

Quit tempting me, I don't need another hobby to obsess over.:veryconfu I have been tempted to try it for years. Very nice work.

[Jailer]

That is absolutely amazing.

Seeing a fine piece of craftsmanship such as that makes me a bit ashamed that I have have not developed any usable skills or talent.

[Awsar]

WOW that is truely a thing of beauty.

very nice thanks for showing us

[bayjoe]

WOW!!! totally cool.

[Woody3]

That is a skill I wish I had!!! I keep hoping to find one of his knives for sale. I would scoop it up :). Maybe after seeing one in person, I would have the fire under me.

[TXGunNut]

At times like this I feel we need a "WOW" button, Mods. Nice pics, BTW.

[smoked turkey]

He is a fine gentleman and from what I have read he also is a very capable hunter with amazing tracking skills. Just as good with either bow and arrow or rifle. That is a beautiful piece of work.

[Recluse]

The talents and abilities of many of our members here never, ever cease to amaze and fascinate me. It's not just guns or gun-related skills or abilities either. We have members who are accomplished artists, musicians, machinists, builders and craftsmen of the absolute highest order.

It's no wonder that we're all drawn to casting our own boolits--that is a craft and art form all of its own.

:coffee:

[Hamish]

You have been given a rare gift. Sheer determination and practice will only carry you so far. The knapper has to have the vision to see the point in the stone. At any point, any little flaw or mistep, and the whole piece can be trash. To have been able to work the point with a color midline like that is just beautiful Joe.

A rare gift indeed.

[LuvMy1911]

Great pictures! That is the most beautiful hand made knife I've ever seen

[xs11jack]

The man has gone beyond craftsman, he is a full blown artist!! He has a rare talent, what a fortunate man!! And you too, to know him and recieve such a gift. Amazing.
Jack

[MtGun44]

I bought one of his stone knives and it is a very nice piece of work.
It inspires me to try to learn to knap stone, but I wonder if I will
ever get to anywhere near that skill level. That is a very beautiful
arrow/spear point.

Bill

[archmaker]

Having played around with flint knapping a little bit I am in true awe of the craftsman ship of that point!! Wow!

[Hickory]

Quit tempting me, I don't need another hobby to obsess over.:veryconfu I have been tempted to try it for years. Very nice work.

If you do decide to get into it, you can practice on an old toilet.

[slim1836]

All I have done is make small rocks out of big ones, keep blaming it on inferior flint.

That is one fine point,

Slim

[DLCTEX]

I have gone so far as to accumulate some flint and chert and still pick up any I stumble across. Maybe someday I'll get the time.

[nagantguy]

Very nice what a gift and what a skill to have mastered. I'm thinking group buy! Is take one or two. I wish I could meet face to face with people I meet here. They seem like the real true grit God fearing folk grandpa spoke of.

[Bzcraig]

I have no interest in flint knapping but like you all I do recognize a thing of beauty when I see it, and that is beautiful. Secondly, I got all sappy when I read it. A simple gesture of thanks is returned multiplied, acts of kindness and generosity rarely seen in this day and age. That gentlemen, is the reason this forum is my favorite and so successful. Thanks for sharing that!

[Boerrancher]

Fellas, you are making me blush with all of your kind words. I have been knapping and using stone tools for a bit over 30 years, and I really don't feel what I do is a gift or a talent. Any 10 year old kid can do what I do with a bit of practice, but all of your kind words are appreciated.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Doc Highwall]

Did your father mentor you on knapping too Joe? Nice work to by the way, I enjoy seeing hand crafted tools.

[Boerrancher]

Did your father mentor you on knapping too Joe? Nice work to by the way, I enjoy seeing hand crafted tools.

My knapping ability grew out of necessity. My father was a gun guy through and through. He would spare no expense to see to it that as a kid I had the best guns and ammo available. At a very early age around 8 years, I fell in love with archery after using my allowance to buy a wooden long bow and 3 arrows at a yard sale. To Dad, archery was foolishness, and not needed. His line of thought was why do you need a bow when you have a gun.

It didn't take long before the original 3 arrows were lost or broken, and I couldn't afford on my meager allowance to keep myself in arrows. I could easily make good shafts and fletch them with turkey feathers, but that didn't help me out when it came to broad heads. I found stone arrowheads on the farm all the time, so I knew that they could be made. Back in the mid 70's there was no books available on the subject, and most certainly no internet videos. I sat out to figure out how the Indians made these virtually flawless broadheads out of nothing more than stone.

At the time, most folks including those writing the books in the library who were supposed to be historians told of how the Indians heated the rock and dropped water on it. I quickly found out the results were nearly as bad as a visit from the tinsel fairy. I knew that I could strike the flint with a softer type stone like a sandstone cobble and drive off a flake. It didn't take long before I could make a crudely shaped point, but I couldn't refine it using a stone.

My next step was to think about what the Indians had access to besides stone, and that was wood and bone. Wood didn't hold up too well, and for the most part was too soft. I found several old cow bones and they worked but not as well as I had hoped. It took several months for me to realize that antlers were about the same consistency as bone, but much more durable. Once I figured out how to break and shape the antlers into proper tools I was off to the races. 30 some years later I am still working to improve my antler tool set, with different shaped punches and flakers.

It is a continual learning experience, as no piece of stone is the same and each will present it's own set of challenges, with hidden flaws, not to mention the flaws that are added by a misplaced strike on my part, and each flaw requires a slightly different technique to remove it. In many ways it is like learning how to make cast boolits, and develop loads to shoot them with pin point accuracy. I never stop learning when I am working stone just as I never stop learning when I am pouring and shooting cast boolits.

Best wishes,

Joe

[TheGrimReaper]

Now that is just too neat. Talk about a lost artform!!!